Strength-based Management

Ever wonder why it is we focus on our weaknesses instead of exploring our strengths? That’s the topic of the latest book I’m reading Now, Discover your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton. This is a follow up book to their inaugural First, Break all the Rules.

These books have crystalized for me some of what I already knew and practiced, and gave me words to express many of my thought patterns and expand on what I seemed to inherently know.

Simply put, the authors have hit the nail on the head – that we should be focusing on how to ensure people are successful (and fulfilled) in their jobs by ensuring that their strengths match the role. If the strengths don’t match, then it would the most productive for everyone to find the person a role that they can excel at.

Of course, putting this into practice requires a huge investment. Managers would actually have to get to know their staff. Staff must be encouraged to self-search for their strengths and to acknowledge where they fall short, but not fall into the trap of trying to fix these shortcomings. Instead, we should be building on what a person does best, because that is when true excellence can take place.